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Full-Text Articles in Soil Science
Assessing The Impact Of A Constructed Wetland Biome On The Ecosystem Health Of Cedar Run, Thomas Vasilopoulos, Casey Lee
Assessing The Impact Of A Constructed Wetland Biome On The Ecosystem Health Of Cedar Run, Thomas Vasilopoulos, Casey Lee
Senior Honors Projects, 2010-2019
A wetlands ecosystem is defined as “an area saturated by surface or groundwater at a frequency or duration sufficient to support...a prevalence of vegetation typically adapted for life in saturated soil conditions” (Batzer and Sharitz, 2007). Wetlands serve as biofilters and thus have been used to treat sewage and wastewater, as well as to restore the health of polluted water systems. Solly Walker and Lorinda Palin, owners of a certified natural and biodynamic farm called Avalon Acres located in Broadway, Virginia, constructed a wetland two years ago, using the stream, Cedar Run, that flows through their property. Pollution from agricultural …
Compost Land Management And Soil Carbon Sequestration, Kylene A. Hohman
Compost Land Management And Soil Carbon Sequestration, Kylene A. Hohman
Senior Honors Projects, 2010-2019
Extensive fossil fuel burning has released carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. Under proper ecological conditions plants convert atmospheric carbon dioxide into stable soil organic matter, a natural and efficient means of mitigating climate change. In the symbiotic relationship between mycorrhizae and plants, mycorrhizae provide plants with essential nutrients in exchange for carbon sugars leaked from the plants. Mycorrhizae convert carbon sugars to an exudate called glomalin, a protein that assists in developing soil aggregates composed of sand, silt, and clay. These aggregates, called humus, store carbon for hundreds of years under healthy ecological conditions. Compost prompts soil microbes to aerobically …